TS-47xx XUARTs
This board uses /dev/ttyS0, the CPU UART as console but all additional UARTs are added on the FPGA. These are using an FPGA core we call XUARTs which have some benefits for embedded applications over traditional UARTs. XUARTs have a shared 4KB RX buffer which allows low CPU usage without losing data. The XUARTs also allow arbitrary baudrates in a simple format. We have a patch for libmodbus that allows guaranteed timing between packets for MODBUS networks with low latency requirements.
XUARTs also include an automatic TX enable for RS485 ports. This is configured by accessing the #Syscon registers. Whenever the UART is writing the RX side will automatically be silenced so characters are not echoed back.
XUARTs are different than traditional UARTs in a few ways. The XUARTs cannot set the baud rate or mode cannot be set using ioctls either manually or using utilities like setserial or stty. Manually sending a break command requires using the raw TCP api. The baud rate and mode are instead set when the XUART is initialized. For example:
eval $(xuartctl --server --port 0 --mode 8n2 --speed 9600 2>&1); ln -sf $ttyname /dev/ttyxuart0
eval $(xuartctl --server --port 1 --mode 8n1 --speed 115200 2>&1); ln -sf $ttyname /dev/ttyxuart1
eval $(xuartctl --server --port 2 --mode 8n1 --speed 38400 2>&1); ln -sf $ttyname /dev/ttyxuart2
You can specify different ports and link locations for additional UARTs if they are enabled in your FPGA. Once the /dev/ttyxuart# device is created you can treat this as a traditional UART. You can use applications like picocom, pppd, minicom, and so on directly on the UART as expected.
Programming for the XUARTS is essentially the same as any other UART. Either of these are great resources for serial programming:
For more detail on XUARTs, see the Xuartctl page.